The Global Slavery Index 2023

Regional: The Americas (Part 2)

​What are governments in the region doing to address modern slavery? 
Walk Free has assessed government responses to modern slavery in 32 countries in the Americas. Governments across the region scored an average of 48 per cent, second only to Europe and Central Asia. National responses in the Americas are mixed. Despite some strong responses in the region, there is evidence of weak criminal justice systems and inadequate protection for survivors, which are compounded by government crises, corruption, and large migration flows. 
 
Wealth disparity impacts government responses to modern slavery within the region. Wealthier countries typically demonstrated stronger responses to modern slavery, with the US (67 per cent) and Canada (60 per cent) — the region’s wealthiest countries — ranking first and second respectively. The US also performed well at the global level, ranking within the top five. At the same time, some countries with comparatively lower wealth also demonstrated strong responses to modern slavery. Argentina’s response (58 per cent) ranked third in the region, only just below Canada, despite having less than half the GDP per capita PPP (current international $) (US$20,769 compared to US$46,572). Some of the countries that demonstrated the least action to respond to modern slavery had the lowest GDP per capita among countries assessed and had experienced political and economic disruption; for example, Venezuela (27 per cent) and Cuba (31 per cent). 
 
The US, Canada, Argentina, and Uruguay demonstrated the strongest responses to modern slavery. Compared to others in the Americas, these countries are generally taking concrete actions to improve certain aspects of survivor support, strengthen criminal justice systems, and address risk factors. The Canadian government routinely releases annual reports describing actions to combat modern slavery and has an independent oversight mechanism in place for monitoring the functioning and effectiveness of its National Action Plan. In 2019, Canada also ratified the ILO Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 with its ratification entering into force on 17 June 2020. Venezuela demonstrated the weakest responses to modern slavery. Venezuela continues to be affected by protracted economic and political instability, which hampered the government’s ability to respond.
 
Saint Lucia, Canada, and Uruguay have all taken further action to combat modern slavery since the previous assessment of government responses in 2018. In Saint Lucia, the government introduced a hotline that facilitates reporting to specialised human trafficking task forces, federal authorities, local law enforcement, and service providers. This was accompanied by a widespread awareness campaign to promote the hotline. Since the last report, Peru, Antigua and Barbuda, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, and Suriname have also ratified the ILO Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930, while the ILO Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) entered into force in Mexico, Peru, and Antigua and Barbuda.
 
The strength of legislative frameworks to combat modern slavery in the Americas is varied. Across the region, 21 countries criminalise human trafficking, 12 countries criminalise forced labour, and only seven countries criminalise forced marriage (Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Saint Lucia, Bahamas, Canada, and Belize). The US provided up to US$10 million in funding for programs to prevent child marriage around the world from 2017 to 2020, yet most of its states still allow children under the age of 18 to marry and eight have not set a minimum age. In most countries assessed, governments provided training for the judiciary and prosecution, however only 11 countries provided this training regularly. When considering protections for children, 15 countries have criminalised child commercial sexual exploitation; however, only Colombia, Nicaragua, and Panama have criminalised the use of children in armed conflict. Only Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago are yet to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. 
 
While the majority of countries in the region had specialised law enforcement units to investigate modern slavery, 16 of them did not have the resources to operate effectively. In El Salvador, both the anti-trafficking police and prosecution units did not have enough resources to investigate and prosecute cases and were further impeded by the lack of an electronic case management system. Additionally, there is evidence that survivors of modern slavery have been treated as criminals for conduct that occurred while under the control of criminals in the US, Brazil, Cuba, El Salvador, Mexico, and Honduras. In the US, survivors are criminalised and face challenges finding employment and housing because of charges laid against them while they were under the control of criminals.
 
All countries in the Americas are involved in a regional response to modern slavery. National coordination bodies exist in all but two countries (Cuba and Venezuela); however, only the US, Guyana, and Canada include survivors of modern slavery in this coordination. Almost all countries in the Americas have a National Action Plan to combat modern slavery; only Chile does not. Chile’s draft National Action Plan has not been formally approved or made public, while after years of awaiting approval, Paraguay finally implemented a National Action Plan covering the period from 2020 to 2024.
 
While nearly all countries in the Americas have criminalised corruption, allegations of official complicity in modern slavery cases were reportedly not investigated in 17 countries. In Mexico, where an anonymous hotline to report corruption of officials received no tips despite reports of government officials facilitating modern slavery, some officials have been investigated but there have been no convictions. Labour inspections specifically targeting modern slavery occur in 24 countries, although none have sufficient labour inspectors to cover the entire population or to allow labour inspectors to enter premises unannounced. Only in Honduras are labour inspectors able to enforce fines. In 12 countries, not all children are able to access birth registration systems, which creates significant vulnerability due to related barriers to accessing education and employment. 
 
There is evidence of awareness campaigns targeting known modern slavery risks in all but two countries in the region. In 2021, Canada launched a five-year awareness campaign based on a survey of public attitudes and awareness on human trafficking. There is also evidence that governments have facilitated research on modern slavery in 19 countries, including, for example, a 2021 study on the state of human trafficking in Honduras and a 2020 study to reduce vulnerability to human trafficking and crime in Saint Lucia. That being said, state-imposed forced labour, such as abuse of compulsory prison labour, undermines any government efforts to tackle modern slavery in Brazil and the US.
 
Although the Americas has the second strongest response in terms of addressing forced labour in global supply chains in comparison to other regions, the level of action remains low. Recently, Mexico and Canada joined the US in enacting legislation that prohibits companies from importing goods produced through forced labour. The US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement came into effect in July 2020 and prohibited the importation of goods produced with forced labour into each country’s territory. In the same month, Canada amended its Customs Tariff to incorporate the restriction on goods produced with forced labour, and, more recently, passed its own “Modern Slavery Act” which imposes a mandatory reporting obligation on certain government institutions and private sector entities.The US also passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in 2021, which entered into effect in June 2022, to prevent goods made with forced labour of Uyghurs from entering the US market.

Promising Practices in the Americas 
In the Promising Practices Database, 53 of 262 evaluations cover 20 countries in the Americas. Most evaluated programs target human trafficking, child labour, and the worst forms of child labour. Only one evaluation focused on forced, servile, or early marriage, despite it being a significant issue within the region. While the majority of evaluated programs in the region met some or all their objectives, fewer than half of the evaluated programs had reliable methodologies that featured a control or comparison group. However, of these reliable evaluations, the majority had some success in providing insights into what works to address modern slavery in the Americas. 
 
Spotlight on what works 
The Bono de Desarrollo Humano (BDH) cash transfer program has provided unconditional cash transfers to families in Ecuador since 1998 and offers valuable lessons for reducing child labour through economic empowerment. The program randomly assigned money to low-income families, while others in the target area who did not receive a transfer were used as a control group. The transfers involved monthly payments of US$15 to female heads of household, which accounted for 7 per cent of monthly expenditure. The evaluation included a sample of 1,488 randomly selected households and conducted baseline and follow-up surveys. The program led to a 78 per cent decline in child labour outside the home among all participants. Inside the home, child labour decreased by 32 per cent. Reducing child labour can lead to a reduction in children who are at risk of the worst forms of child labour, a form of modern slavery. The program demonstrates the importance of unconditional cash transfers in empowering and protecting vulnerable individuals. 
 
Recommendations for Governments
Introduce legislation requiring governments and businesses to take steps to identify and address modern slavery in their supply chains, including mandatory human rights due diligence. 
 
Enact or strengthen existing legislation to ensure that all forms of exploitation are criminalised and penalties for crimes associated with forced labour, forced marriage, and human trafficking are appropriate for the severity of the crime. 
 
Improve support and identification efforts for all victims throughout the Americas by providing services to all survivors of modern slavery, including men, children, and migrants. 
 
Establish bilateral agreements protecting labour migrants between countries of origin and destination. 
 
Adopt and distribute national guidelines for identifying and screening victims and provide systematic and regular training for police and other first responders, as well as border guards, immigration officials, labour inspectors, teachers, doctors, nurses, social workers, and tourism sector workers, with a particular emphasis on countries receiving large influxes of migrants fleeing crisis in the region. 
 
Walk Free 2023. Global Slavery Index 2023. Minderoo Foundation Ltd. Australia.